Internet Home Of The Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

Reuters: Without naming anybody, Kerry
said he had received words of encouragement from leaders abroad who were eager
to see him defeat Bush on Nov. 2. "I've met foreign leaders who can't go out and
say this publicly, but boy they look at you and say, 'You've got to win this,
you've got to beat this guy, we need a new policy,' things like that," he said.

North Korea's state-controlled media are well known for reverential reporting
about Kim Jong-il, the country's dictatorial leader.

But the Dear Leader is not the only one getting deferential treatment from
the communist state's propaganda machine: John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic
candidate, is also getting good play in Pyongyang.

In the past few weeks, speeches by the Massachusetts senator have been
broadcast on Radio Pyongyang and reported in glowing terms by the Korea Central
News Agency (KCNA), the official mouthpiece of Mr Kim's communist regime.

The apparent enthusiasm for Mr Kerry may reflect little more than a "better
the devil you don't know" mentality among the North Korean apparatchiks. Rather
than dealing with President George W. Bush and hawkish officials in his
administration, Pyongyang seems to hope victory for the Democratic candidate on
November 2 would lead to a softening in US policy towards the country's nuclear
weapons programme.

Mr Kerry has also been more forthright about setting out the economic
rewards for North Korea support.

Either way, the North Korean media is a constituency Mr Kerry could do
without. Second only to the warm words Mr Kerry has enjoyed from Jane Fonda, the
actress and antiwar liberal who is still a bugbear of the American right, a
signal of support from the Dear Leader will delight conservative talk-show hosts
and Republicans eager to paint Mr Kerry as soft on national security.

A small group of Vietnam veterans has already branded Mr Kerry as "Hanoi
John" - a reference to his antiwar activities in 1971 after he returned from
serving in Vietnam.

Mr Kerry was first introduced to North Korea's information-starved people in
early February, when Radio Pyongyang reported that opinion polls indicated he
was likely to defeat Mr Bush.

"Senator Kerry, who is seeking the presidential candidacy of the Democratic
Party, sharply criticised President Bush, saying it was an ill-considered act to
deny direct dialogue with North Korea," said the news agency.